Top 5 Intriguing People of 2009

While listening to the radio today, the DJs were talking about some lists of the most intriguing people of 2009. They encouraged listeners to call in with their own entries to the list, so it got me thinking, and so I have decided to make my own list. And yes, I know, some spots are for more than one person, but I don't care. This is also just a list of the people that I found most intriguing in the news, whether it be international, national, or local.

My Top 5 Intriguing People of 2009

1. Laura Ling and Euna Lee - The two American journalists captured by North Korea and held captive for several months until former President Bill Clinton flew to North Korea, gave its child-like dictator the attention he craved, and few back with the tormented jouranlists.

2. Craig Robinson - The coach of Oregon State's men's basketball program is not only Michelle Obama's brother, but he also single-handedly turned the second worst Pac-10 team in conference history (they went winless in conference play the prior year) and brought them to 18-18 and a CBI (third-tier tourney) championship. His amazing coaching skills and his relation to the President both have brought national attention to a former giant in NCAA Basketball.

3. President Obama - From his bogus award given to him for campaign promises (so far unkept and many impossible to keep)- aka the Nobel Prize - and his unusually right-wing acceptance speech for his award, to his record highs AND lows in popularity, Obama has been very interesting to watch this year.

4. Captain Chesley Sullenberger - The pilot at the helm of US Airways Flight 1549's historic crash landing into the Hudson, Captain "Sully" grabbed national attention not only with his superior piloting skills which saved hundreds of lives, but also his poise in the face of danger. His actions in such a dangerous situation became an instant textbook example for any future pilots on how to handle a crisis.

5. Andre Agassi - Former No. 1 Tennis player in the world, shook the sports world when he admitted in his book not just to his meth use while playing tennis, but also his hatred for the sport.

Wedding Pics

Finally got around to uploading the wedding pictures... so here are some of them!

all photos by Russ Photography

Thriller

It's official: I am now scheduled to march the halftime show for the OSU Marching Band. The Clarinetist with swine flu, has recovered, but another one on the other side of the field is now out, so I have switched positions. It should go well though, despite only three run-thrus tonight in her spot, and I'll at least have a couple run-throughs tomorrow morning before the game. It helps that I at least marched a different spot so I know some of the counts, though it is a little stressful having to re-learn where to go.

On a related note, tonight we broke the College record for most people dancing to "Thriller" (or maybe just to any MJ song?) with 645. We had 215 in the band, and the rest came from OSU students, and perhaps some alumni.

A Month at OSU

I have been a student at Oregon State University now for about a month, and things are going well. I have three academic classes: Writing 121 (required for all OSU students unfortunately), Intro to Film Studies (Film history part 1 of 3), and History of Africa prior to 1840. So far, Writing 121 is the most annoying, but also the easiest and least painless. Sure, I've had to write an essay and have a research paper and another essay to go, but it is relatively pain-free. History might be ok, but I won't know til after the midterm. Film is great, though its grade is 100% based on the final, which could be good, or it could be bad! It is the most fun class though.

The job search is still just a search, and if I haven't found a job by Christmas Break, I will grudgingly look into working at a fast food place. I've applied at Staples and left my resume with a Christian store which sounded a little interested, but I am still looking for other possibilities. I will check with the OSU bookstore again fairly soon. At the very least, I will soon be getting a small paycheck again from the Army as I soon start my Reserve contract, and I will be getting a decent stipend from the Marching Band at the end of the term, and of course, the GI Bill will give me the equivalent of a low-paying job just for going to school.

In just a little over a month, I will get my first OSU credits and officially have the 3rd most from OSU in my family! Ok, so one got hers at another unversity that calls itself a college, but I'm not letting that get in the way of that sounding like a real accomplishment!

5 musical annoyances

I've made some observations recently about various musical truths/things that irritate me...

1. If a band's saxophone section has members who play the type of sax as assigned by their section leader, often the section leader will play Bari. If the rest of the saxophone section is weak, the altos take the brunt of the criticism and the Bari player tries to help, but ultimately the altos are set up for failure.

2. Horns are beautiful. Euphoniums/Baritones are beautiful, but are better placed in a brass band where they aren't stealing from the Horns, pretending to be Trombones, or being covered up in a sea of boringness from a part written by a composer who doesn't know what he is doing because of number 3. Euphoniums are best placed in a Brass Band where they can be properly appreciated and given a part deserving of the instrument without encroaching on the Horn's space.

3. Medley composers usually are using the medley as a trial run in their composing career. SO often do I see a medley that is just so poorly written! I get a distinct impression that the composer writes out the whole song for a few instruments first. They might hear a trumpet part here and a sax solo there, but for the most part, the whole thing is written around 3 or 4 instruments at most. Then the composer looks at the other parts and is like "umm... what should I put there? Oh! How about lots of really high whole notes with no rest! That would be awesome, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind a boring part that will wear them out with one runthrough!"

4. Good Horn players are so hard to find because most are either a) technically good or b) musically good. Rarely is a Horn player great in both categories, and if a Horn player is, he could potentially go a long ways in a Horn career.

5. If your musicians are worn out, telling them to play louder and still sound good doesn't work. At that point, it is one or the other... mezzo forte and great, or loud and middle school.

Narnian Ramblings

I have always been interested in history, but in the last few years, my interest has expanded into various aspects such as etymology (history of words) and the truth behind mythology and legend. One example of etymology that interested me was when I formed a hypothesis about the word "won't" as to how it came to be, considering that "wo" and "not" did not form to be that one word like "can" and "not" became "can't." I realized that the words "will" and "not," when said very quickly, sounds like "willn't." After saying that word faster and faster, I started to hear an "oh" sound, and voila, just like that, "will not" sounded like "won't."

What got me thinking about this subject, however, is not the etymology; it is the legend. Though to be fair, in this case it is more of the history of a legend within a fantasy. I was watching Prince Caspian and thinking about how the book did a much better job at depicting the severity of the Telmarines' fear of both water and the forest. During the scene where the trees awaken and the river god (I can't remember if he actually has another name or not...) returns to save the day, the explanation of their fear jumped out at me. Just as much mythology and legend has its base in reality (even if a small base), so the Telmarine superstition did within the fantasy world of Narnia. In their history, when they invaded Narnia, they probably lost a great many troops while battling not just the normal Narnians, but the trees and water as well. If I were a survivor of such a mind-rattling event, I and my fellow soldiers would tell my children of the horrors of the forest and the river, and I'm sure that if the stories were retold and retold, that 1300 years later there might very well be a superstition regarding trees and water. After I realized this, I then mentally kicked myself for not making the connection for so long; it is so obvious and an integral part to the story's background, but C.S. Lewis never went and outright stated that connection, and I just never stopped to think about it.

And speaking of Narnia, my favorite in the series is currently in production! I had heard that Disney and Walden Media dropped the Narnia franchise after Prince Caspian was released, but I found out today that my fears were only half-true. Disney did drop Narnia, but Walden Media went to Fox (whom they have done every other non-Narnia project with), and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader is set to be released in November or December 2010. As stated in the blog article that I read, the magic that is notably absent in Prince Caspian (considered the hardest of the books to adapt into a decent movie for this reason) is back in full force, so I can't wait!

Rain, Rain, Rain

It is monsoon season here in Korea. This time of year, it rains about every four days or so; if you have had two or three days of sun in a row, you had better pack and umbrella in your bag if going out. I am used to it though, having gone through this season a couple of times before. I take my old black boots out because they are waterproof and great for the deep puddles I have to go through. Last year was mild, so this year, as expected, is already more severe than normal as if in compensation. There have already been some elevated flood warnings, and today on the way to church I had to walk through a "stream" flowing across a sidewalk (it was about 1-2 inches deep, despite irrigation beneath the sidewalk). Besides my boots, I am thankful for the invention of the umbrella, the hat, and that the Army allows the black trenchcoat to be worn in civilian attire. That, and the rain washes out the smog and yellow dust!

Running

Today I went to the gym and played some basketball by myself, and I followed that up with a run. Yes, a run. Over the last week or so I've felt really good and have even run for 10 or 15 seconds at a time during PT, albeit a very slow jog. Then, this weekend, I was at the gym and I started looking at the basketball court. I never really learned how to shoot-- I always tried, but I never learned the correct form, so at the gym I picked up a basketball and started shooting. After a while someone else came and started shooting at the opposite hoop, and observing his style, I tried to mimick it until suddenly it felt natural. Granted, I am still a horrible shot (I have since only shot 25% of my attempts from the free throw line), but it doesn't feel awkward anymore. (I also had someone look at my shots later and he said it looked right... I just need to not revert to my old way when playing against someone!)

While shooting around, and usually missing, I found myself going after the ball a lot, and to be honest, it just got really annoying trying to speedwalk to catch up to the ball, so I jogged a little bit. Surprisingly, it did not hurt, so soon I was jogging before trying to lob the ball, and by the end of my "workout" I was even running fairly slowly across the court. All of this was without my brace.

So today, naturally I wanted to continue my newfound basketball skills, however young they may be. I found myself running around even more than before, so I decided to be brave; I went to the treadmill, and for over 15 minutes, I proceeded to alternate between a minute or so of a slow run and a couple minutes of walking. Right now my knee feels fine, and I am feeling extremely optimistic. I did wear my brace to be cautious, and I will continue to wear it during PT, but I am going optimistic that my progress will continue, and that soon I will even be able to just "go for a run!"

Susan Boyle... the sensation, the money-maker

If you have spent any time online in the last month or two, you have probably heard of Susan Boyle. She became an overnight sensation after appearing on Britain's Got Talent with her stirring rendition of I Dream the Dream from Les Miserables. I, like almost everyone else who saw and/or heard her, instantly was moved by how well she could sing, despite looking like she would be a total failure. She is almost 50, overweight, and certainly is not a pretty sight to behold, yet instantly she became an international star when her voice shocked the world.

I know that while this was happening, the execs for Britain's Got Talent, after getting over the initial shock, were surely grinning their faces off at their good fortune. Susan Boyle has gotten their show much more publicity than it could have gotten elsewhere, and the ratings have done extremely well as a result.

This is why I have a problem with Susan Boyle. She is a good singer, but were she 25 and skinny and had she a perfect face, no one outside of the normal viewing audience would have a clue who she is. The only reason anyone knows is because the show is taking advantage of her middle age and less-than-average looks and capitalizing on the stark difference between her looks and her voice. Susan Boyle has a great voice, and I am very happy for her for finding this opportunity, but because of the shameless way the show is using her, I find myself rooting for her competition. I know, she probably has little or nothing to do with how she is being used, and I know they are just seizing a great capitalist venture, but all the same, the rebel in me is moving me on principle alone to go against the flow on this one.

The News Anchor got bored again...

With all the efforts of our disaster-happy media to make us all die young with stress, I though I should set a few things straight about recent events.

FACT: North Korea has tested another nuke underground.

FICTION: They might ever actually consider using it on South Korea.

I have really lost any faith in today's media... I mean, really? What moron would nuke an area only 20 miles away, when the fallout is over 100 miles? The North Koreans want South Korea, not the radioactive remains of it.


FACT: North Korea has just renounced the Armistice Treaty

FICTION: That actually means anything.

Again, I present a case of the media being so hungry for a story that they make one from almost nothing. North Korea is ALWAYS making stupid threats to try to get our attention. Just think of them as a toddler starved for attention. They will keep trying to do little things that aren't serious but still get them in trouble anyways. I challenge the media to go find family members of the infamous Axe Murder incident and ask them if they think North Korea has abided by the treaty all these years. The simple truth of the matter is they don't abide by the treaty-- rather they don't attack anyone because they know they would be blown off the face of the earth if they tried because no one (even China and Russia) likes them anymore.


FACT: The U.S. and South Korean militaries have raised the alert status.

FICTION: The troops are at a heightened state of alert.

I was reading the news, and apparently I am at a big state of alert, watching North Korea intently. Also, apparently the dozens of ROK soldiers I saw last night downtown are also really alert. Hogwash. A classic example of the media twisting the truth to sound ominous. Yes, the militaries are watching more closely, but it is not like we are on a lockdown or anything.


Bottom line is unless there is an actual land invasion, any time the media starts talking about Korea, always take the level of seriousness down a couple levels at least. This goes for anything... recently when a former Korean President committed suicide, many Koreans found out from the news that they were apparently in a huge state of shock and mourning.... because if the news finds 10 people doing something, they will assume the 100 people around them are also doing it as well.

Blackhawk

Following my ride in a Chinook Helicopter a year and a half ago, there have been numerous times during which I was supposed to finally get to ride in a Blackhawk, but each time weather or other circumstances kept me from my ride. Finally, on Wednesday, the chance arrived.

Filling in for a Horn player on leave, I have been an acting member of the Brass Quintet for a couple of weeks. The week prior we were told the rumor by the Operations NCO that aerial transport was in the works for a mission at Camp Humphreys, which would turn a 2.5 hour bus ride into a 45 minute ride in a Blackhawk, and a few days after we heard the rumor, it was confirmed.

To really get a feel for the excitement I had, you have to understand the difference between a Chinook and a Blackhawk. Riding in the Chinook was like riding in a flying school bus with some pretty serious horsepower. It was cool to fly, but apart from the view, it was very non-lavish. While the Chinook was a school bus, the Blackhawk was a Porsche. In the noisy Chinook we were reduced to hand signals, and we had a view only because the crew chief lowered the back door during the flight. In the Blackhawk, we had windows next to our seats, headsets with microphones, and since we had some interaction with the pilots and the crew chief before take-off, it almost even felt like our own private limousine service.

In the morning, we did have the disappointment of a bus-ride due to a haze in the air keeping the bird out of the air because of visibility, but the ride home was cleared as the early-morning haze cleared. On the way home we passed over a couple of Army camps, and the view over Seoul was amazing. I also noticed Korean burial mounds all over the place.

With my fun afternoon on Wednesday, I can now add "flew over Seoul in a Blackhawk Helicopter" to my "cool" list alongside "threw a live grenade" and "performed live music to a crowd of over 10,000." I would say my time in the Army has had some really fun moments...

More pictures can be found in the "Army Stuff" folder in my Photobucket account (link located to the right on this blog).

To Boldly Go....

WARNING: The entry below contains spoilers. If you have not yet seen Star Trek, read no further than the first paragraph.

This evening I went to see Star Trek with Deanna and Sue. Have already seen some of the previews, my hopes were high. I had read from one friend that it was THE Star Trek movie to see, and seeing as how it was directed by Lost's Executive Producer J.J. Abrams, what could go wrong? Not much, apparently. The movie was fantastic, though in my opinion, not perfect. The best way I can describe it is an almost flawless masterpiece. The acting, directing, casting, camera work, special effects, etc were all excellent... I could go on and on. Even the plot and the script was pretty good, especially the rich dialogue. It was interesting enough to engage the non-"trekkie" audience, while full of references that caused the hard-core trekkies, and even the casual fans on occasion, to laugh out loud, or at least let a very non-vulcan grin sneak into our faces.

SPOILERS AHEAD... Do not read unless you have seen the movie or don't intend to!!!




The only beef I have with the movie was with the plot and concerned my own expectations. Halfway through the movie we discover that the current timeline is actually an alternate dimension-- time as he know it has been altered to reflect a universe where Kirk's father is dead and Kirk entered the Academy as a much more rebellious cadet than before, as if that was even possible. (I should admit that I should have caught on to the changed timeline at the beginning when Kirk's future references to his father's influence no longer making sense as his father died before our eyes...) While this is not a bad thing in its own, I was eagerly anticipating the meeting of James T. Kirk with Mr. Spock and seeing how the two became the friends that they were. I wanted to see the beginnings of Star Trek. Because it was an alternate timeline, I was dissappointed in this one aspect of the plot, but, as I stated earlier, the extremely well-made movie made up for the setback. Everything from the casting to the cameras was done in perfect taste and was a fitting tribute to the franchise.

One last knee update

I know I've held you all on the seat of your chairs (ok, so there aren't that many of you, and you probably did not stay on the same chair for several weeks) but I finally have an update regarding my recent knee questions. Actually I've had the update for a week, but a combination of business, laziness, and forgetfulness kept me from posting.

There is some good news, and there is some bad news. The good news is that I do not have to get any further surgeries. None of the removed tissue has grown back, and there is nothing out of the ordinary except for more scar tissue than usual-- which I could have told you anyways since they cut to the point where bending the knee pretty much tried to open the wound for a few weeks. The bad news is that I need to do some more physical therapy (completely on my own with no follow-up) and that the nerve damage likely will never entirely heal. It has improved a lot in the last few months, but not entirely. I am still tender when I am on all fours, but it is bearable now.

Short Recap of Parents' visit to Korea

It has been such a busy (but fun) week since my parents arrived! They got here on my birthday, but we didn't do much because it was late and for them it was early in the morning, not early evening, but the following day we went to Lotte World, Korea's cheaper rip-off of Disney World, also the largest indoor amusement park in the world. It has an outdoor section too, but we only went on one ride there because of the rain, though that ride was easily one of the best I've ever been on.

The next day we went to a palace. It was Palace #3 out of 5, and I had meant to take them to #2 right next to it, but it turned out to be a fortunate mistake because during that same day, #2 had no tours, and #3 had one in English right as we arrived. The tours really do make a huge difference in the experience.

On Friday I had to work so they went out on their own and relaxed, and then my mom went to Deanna's bridal shower while my dad and I went up to Camp Casey for some crab legs. Saturday I worked again so Mom and Dad went to see Young Mi down in Seoul, but I spent time with them on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was church, and I spoke in the evening service. It was really really short, though in my defense, the songs ended five minutes earlier than usual, so I wasn't as short as it looked! Though it was still really short anyways... On Monday we tried to go to Seoul Tower and the War Memorial museum, but the museum was closed for Monday, and it was raining, so the Tower was not a good idea. Mom and Dad are going to see Young Mi again today though, and so either today or tomorrow they will try to fit those back in!

Taxes and Guitars

I have had a very productive weekend so far. I had Friday off, and I used it to go up to Camp Casey... once I had the self-control to actually get out of bed. While up there I picked up my new glasses and filed my taxes at the free tax center. Considering that I get all my state taxes back, that was a very good feeling! I haven't saved as much money the past two or three months, but now my bank account forgives me.

Today, Deanna left for Malaysia for a few days during Spring Break. I won't get to see her until thursday, so I am taking advantage of the time alone by spending more time at the gym and trying to eat better. I went to the gym this morning (yes, I actually DID get up at 9:00 on a saturday) and plan on going Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well. Later today, after Oregon State's final game of the season, I am going to go to Yongsan and look for a tire tube for my bike and also see if the full-band version of Guitar Hero III is at the PX for the Wii. I want the drums, the mic, and a second guitar! I have two versions of Guitar Hero, but since it comes with the band setup, one more wouldn't hurt!

Some surgery complications?

I went to the physical therapist today. I went to the doctor last week because my knee has been bothering me much more than usual in the past month or two after I tweaked it while wearing all my heavy gear and trying to sit down on a very low seat.

When I got to the doctor and got through explaining the pain and my medical history related to the knee (took some time to get that fully explained!), she looked at it a bit. She could tell something was not right, and the spot that I told her hurts the most had something in it that she could feel, almost as if there was a piece of loose bone moving around, or a vein rolling when you press on it. It wasn't either of those, but I don't know how else to describe it.

After trying several of the "tests" on my knee that she knew, she was able to conclude that the problem was not muscular, or at least not in any of the major muscles, as I had great muscle strength and felt no pain in doing various exercises, so she brought in the other (more experienced) doctor to take a look at it. (On a side note, he is the doctor that first referred me to the army hospital that sent me to San Diego.) He came to the same conclusion, and they told me to go ahead and schedule an MRI for it so they could have a reference, becuase the only images they had to look at were pre-surgery. They told me a couple of things that it might be, though I don't remember what it was called, just that it is similar to if some extra scar tissue had grown and was getting in the way. If that is the case, some minor surgery might be done, though that would likely be orthoscopic and could be done here in Korea with a short recovery time, but at this point it is still a guessing game. It is also likely to be related to my first surgery, though the MRI will tell them if that is the case.

In the meantime, I am not supposed to wear my heavy gear or lift anything heavy, so I should be ok for now. I can walk just fine, though sometimes it is hard to sit down or go up stairs.

I should have the MRI scheduled by monday of next week, but I won't know more until after it is done, probably in two or three weeks depending on their schedule.

Rant on David Letterman

I really do not like David Letterman. Often while I am getting ready for bed, I will turn on my TV and watch a late night show. It isn't too late for me because of the channel it is on and mixed up timezones, and it is a fun way to end the day sometimes. Lately though, the show has often been David Letterman. I had seen Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien a lot and love their shows, and I've seen Letterman before, but until recently I didn't remember much about him other than that he was Leno's CBS opposite. After watching him more recently I have come to a conclusion that Letterman is not only unnecessarily crude, but isn't even all that funny. He uses the same gag over and over and then tries to make it funny with a Conan-style motion with his arms, amplified by his stuck-up band's noise. Paul Shaffer, his "Kevin" or "Max," thinks he is a lot funnier than he really is and thinks he is a better musician than he really is... it just drives me nuts! It is just sad when I can predict ahead of time if Rush Limbaugh or the GOP is going to be the target of his joke before he reaches the punchline-- he has gotten way too predictable.

I remember hearing for the first time that Letterman used to belong to NBC, and how they made a huge mistake in not fighting to keep him away from CBS, but now I'm not too sure. I think they did themselves a favor. They may have lost money, but they more than gained in a moral victory by dumping the fake talent.

Recording, Day Two

Day Two of the recording was much better than Day One. As I mentioned before, playing by ourselves is a lot less stressful.

We started the morning with a Korean Folksong medley. It didn't go the best because of some instrument malfunctions on the oboe, but we made do, and did a couple of takes with a trumpet using a straight mute instead of the oboe as a contingency. After the medley was done, we moved on to Inchon, a piece commemorating the Korean war and the services of the composer's father in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Yes, I said "wars" instead of "conflicts." I don't care about the politically correct definition of things, especially since the definition is "a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air."

After Inchon we had lunch before coming back to record a Korean song about longing for a mountain in North Korea... kind of like if the USA was split in half, and one half had a song about wishing they could see Niagra Falls just one more time. By that time, the oboe was in a better condition, so we redid the medley a few more times with the oboe. By that time we had a long break while some people did solo sections and/or a small amount of dubbing due to either mistakes or lack of personel, and I started a game of Phase 10. (We had already played Apples to Apples earlier in the day.) Midway through the game, though, I got called back into the recording room because while my short solo had been fine in the recording, the section it leads into needed to be redone, and as there was no break between mine and the solo after, I was still needed. It went fine, though I am glad it is over as it was the type of solo that looks like it wouldn't be that hard, but is one of the more challenging parts I've ever played. It is deceptively hard because of the intervals needed, the rhythm (or lack of it with the implied tempo change), and exposure at a point in which the player has no spot to breathe. Needless to say, while I am glad I had the part, I don't long to play it again-- three times is enough. (Music in May-- High School honor band, Army concert, and now an Army CD).

Tomorrow we get back into the thick of things, but the hardest part for me is now over as I get to enjoy the rest of the week of recording.

Out of the Morning Calm

This week at work we are finishing the recording of our CD: "Out of the Morning Calm." This is the second CD project I've done here at the 2nd Infantry Division Band, and I think it is (for the most part) the better of the two. I feel more prepared for the pieces, and I think the band is too. Also, this year our guest groups were better. Last year we had the Uijeongbu Junior Symphony Orchestra... a nice gesture in the name of community relations. Unfortunately, while the introduction to "America the Beautiful" was beautiful, the violins seemingly decided to all go a quarter step flat all at once when the verse started, leaving the ears in pain as you try not to wince. They were good kids, and there were some phenominal musicians, but the first half of that track was not a good representation of our musical abilities.

This year, we have the Uijeongbu Philharmonic Symphonic Orchestra, or something like that. I don't remember the exact name, just that they use two descriptive words in their name rather than deciding not to be redundant. They were a decent group-- same organization, but the adults instead. There were still some intonation issues, but not nearly as pronounced. The orchestra had no string basses, but that was not an issue as our own low brass managed to fill the lower registers just fine on their own. There were also a handful of highschool students that were on the same level as the orchestra last year, but since they were few and far between, the good ones blended and the not-so-good ones were covered up enough. What really was awesome though was the Uijeongbu City Choir! Again, I'm not sure of their actual name, but that might be it. They sung in two pieces, but by far the best was the Korean National Anthem. Hearing it with that full choir and our band accented by an orchestra was simply amazing!

Tomorrow we begin the portion of the recording with just us. I feel confident; the only part I am nervous about is a very short solo, mainly because while still figuring out how I was going to do part of it, I got a comment from my commander to get it fixed, and it sort of put a mental stress point in there for me that freaks me out whenever I play it. The last note tends to sound really wobbly sometimes because not only am I out of air by that point, but my heart is beating too hard to keep it steady! I will do fine though. If not, we'll just do another take, so it is not the end of the world.

In the small group portion of my recording, I am with the Woodwind Quintet. Last year we had no oboe so we used two flutes, and I had some of the best tone of my life. This year, we have the proper quintet, but I have a boring part that is entirely up-beats, but I can't complain too much because that also means that I didn't have to spend valuable time working on any tough sections in my practice time.

It will be a packed few days as we go to KBS studios, full of a packed recording schedule, as well as lots of down time as other groups are recording.

Darwinism vs Conservationism

Today I was pondering something that has been on my mind for about a year now, so I decided to get it down on pen and paper... er... on pixels... So if you read this just to see what I did at work yesterday or what I did on the weekend, you might as well skip over this one as it is just my ranting about so-called "experts."

One cannot fully support both Darwinism and Conservationism simultaneously.

That really sounds quite controversial at first when you read it, but if you take a step back for a moment, maybe you'll see what I am getting at...

Darwinism, or for the sake of making my point a little better to read, Natural Selection, thrives on the idea of "survival of the fittest." If Rat A and Rat B both are subjected to the same environment and contract the same disease, and Rat A survives while Rat B dies, then according to Natural Selection, the gene pool has been strengthened by the rat with the stronger genes (Rat A) surviving, and the weaker genes (Rat B) dying off, eventually producing a species of rat immune to the disease. So effectually, Darwinism promotes the strong surviving whilst the weak dies off, creating a healthier gene pool.

Conversely, Conservationism thrives on the idea of preserving life. A true conservationist will administer medicine to Rat B to conserve life. A better illustration would be an endangered species; suppose a beaver dam is built and changes an ecosystem. Creatures dependant on the river will have to make some changes, and in the event that they can't adapt to the newly created pond, they will likely die. In history, Darwinists believe that this caused some species to die out, while other species survived and came out stronger for it. Herein lies the problem: As a species is beginning to die out, making way for the stronger species, the true conservationist is obliged to intervene and save the weaker species from extinction, using the loss of the species as a worse outcome than the emergence of a stronger species.

I am getting a little long-winded, I know, so the above can be summed up in one simple phrase:

Darwinists (Natural Selection) rely on the weaker species dying off.
Conservationists (Environmentalists) rely on saving the weaker species.

The two are complete polar opposites!

It is for this reason that I scoff at environmentalists who are such huge proponents of Darwinism-- the very ideals they believe in totally contradict their perfect picture of life.

a visit from Corrie

During the weekend I got to enjoy a visit from my cousin Corrie. Corrie is an English teacher in Mongolia, and she was able to have a long layover in Seoul on the way back to Mongolia after going to a conference and having a vacation in Thailand.

My morning on Saturday started dark and early as I got up to go to the airport, but unfortunately not only did my ride to the bus stop oversleep, but I did too. My goal was to get to the bus by 6, but he called at 6:37 to tell me he had overslept. Fortunately it wasn’t a big deal as the bus at 7 got me there before 8, so Corrie only had to wait an hour for me at the airport, during which time she got some needed rest.

On the bus back to Seoul, I casually pulled out my copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamozov” and asked if she had ever read it. She laughed and proceeded to pull the same edition of the same book out of her own bag! We thought this was hilarious, so she took out her camera and took a picture of us holding up our books. Our opinions of the book were similar, though slightly reversed; I like all of what I’ve read so far, but I like the beginning the best, while she likes the book but thought it had a slow beginning. In either case, it is an excellent book.

After getting back to Uijeongbu, we went to Deanna’s apartment and stayed there for a couple hours so Corrie could settle down and get refreshed after her flight before we sent to Spaghetti House, a local Italian place we really like because you can design your own pasta. We were there with Deanna’s roommates, Sue and Janet, before we (Corrie, Deanna, and I) departed for Seoul.

After an hour-long train ride to Seoul, we found ourselves at Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok Palace), the primary palace that was used by Korean royalty. (Following the Japanese invasion of 1910, Korea is no longer a monarchy, and only a few distant relatives are left from the royal family.) We got to the palace in the middle of a changing-of-the-guard ceremony, so the timing was excellent. Corrie got several good pictures, though her batteries were dead and she was trying to squeeze what little life out of them that was left. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the palace and at an adjacent museum.

After our visit to the palace, we went to Insadong, an outdoor/indoor market, where we shopped around for a little bit before we went to Coldstone Creamery. It was Corrie’s first time eating Coldstone’s icecream, so now she can say that her first time there was in Korea.

Following the icecream, we all were a bit tired and went back on the train to Uijeongbu to Deanna’s apartment where we played some Guitar Hero and hung out for the rest of the evening. I walked Corrie to my pastor’s house where she was staying and then went home.

The next day was not as eventful; we met at church, and after the service, we went back to Deanna’s place and just watched TV and talked until I had to go on post to fold the flag at the end of the day. We didn’t really have time to go anywhere since I had to be back, and it was good for Corrie to get a relaxing “chill” day anyways.

It was really nice to see her, and she was able to meet Deanna for the first time, so it was a really fun weekend.

Games

I just got home at around 10 pm and realized that this is perhaps the earliest I've been home in a long while, excluding Wednesdays when I don't see Deanna. Usually I leave there at 10 or later (depending on how badly I rationalizing staying another 5 or 10 minutes) and then get home and finish some of the wind-down time that I spend online each day. I do it then because I usually skip some or all of it to get to Deanna's before it gets to late as she is waiting on me so we can eat. So on the average night I get home at 10:30ish and am ready for bed a little after 11, except for the nights when I call home, when I end up going to bed later at 11:30. Getting up around 5 am most mornings makes it difficult at times, so while I would not voluntarily trade my longer evenings for some shorter ones and more sleep, my fatigued body is thanking me anyways.

Two nights ago I stayed up late at Tom Vasel's house to watch him and Sam Healey record the latest episode of The Dicetower, a podcast on board games and other related topics. I will be coming on the show this summer, so I wanted to see them do one recording to see what it is like and be mentally prepared for what the process is like before I actually sit down and do one. It was very entertaining, and I actually discovered that I enjoyed the show much more in person despite its increased length-- since they were recording, it was longer as I was there during any breaks or editing needing to be done. I was also very happy when Sam sat down with a pad of paper and told me all the games listed were games he is getting rid of. I bought one of the games from the section he was selling and picked out several of the games he was giving away for free, and the next night I was delighted to see one of his kids walk in our gaming area holding a big stack of games for me. Upwords was perhaps the only conventional game I got, though the Lord of the Rings edition of Risk is still a version of a conventional game. The other games were what I like to call unconventional-- meaning they aren't your average Parker Brothers game, but rather they bring gaming to a different level. It is kind of like comparing your average 50's science fiction TV show with one of the many shows to come in all the decades since... the modern "unconventional" board games are a completely different breed and are often a much higher quality, both in game play and in components.

So now my game collection has grown like a pack of tribbles over the past few months, and in the next couple of weeks will be growing even more as a large order of small to mid-sized games will be arriving in the mail. I plan on buying a few more games as well before I come home, though I may have them just shipped straight home instead of to here because most of them won't be played until I get home anyways.

Some of the games that I have played that I recommend for someone that has never played "non-conventional" games are:

• Ticket to Ride (with or without the 1910 expansion)
• Settlers of Catan
• Carcassonne (several variations of this... all but the Carcassonne: New World)
• Dominion
• Colosseum
• Mystery of the Abbey (similar to Clue)
• Memoir '44

All of those are fairly simple, though if you play with a gamer it might help. They are all also great family games. Right now I have Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, and Castle Carcassone, but I plan on buying most of the rest in the not-t00-distant future.

Cold at the Range

I am finally almost back to my normal self now. After going through two rolls of toilet paper, I upgraded by buying some kleenex (with lotion!) from the commissary. I guess having my upper lip look like it had a red Hitler mustache was a hint that the toilet paper, while cheap, was a no-go. I just happen to like having a lip that is NOT red from being rubbed raw. Though, for the record, there was probably a half roll of army toilet paper in there too, which might as well be sand paper if you use it more than twice. Also for the record, Vaseline is AWESOME if you are raw from sand paper tissue.

I also went to the range last week despite being sick and coughing up everything and then some, but fortunately it wasn't much of an issue as I didn't cough much during the actual shooting. Actually, the cold conditions were much worse than my own cold. I was wishing I had brought a change of socks because my feet sweat a bit in the heated bus ride, and then I stepped into a very cold environment right after. Not fun. The range itself was fairly disorganized (as many things seem to be here, outside of my unit), so as a result, about half of my group wasn't able to get our rifles zeroed (calibrated so that it fires where we aim-- each person holds the rifle slightly differently, so it has to be adjusted to the firer), so rather than come the next day and waste time during the "qualification day," we opted to just come back next month and start already half-zeroed. Despite my lack of firing many rounds, though, it was pretty fun during the 45 minutes I actually got to shoot. The rifle really feels at home in my hands, making it really ironic that I want to be a chaplain and have the only job in the Army that disallows me to every carry a fire-arm...

Toilet Paper

I'm sitting at my computer, listening to the post-game show for the Oregon State Basketball game. I woke up half an hour before my alarm went off this morning, and while up, I noticed that the game was going on, so I got to listen to the last 10 or 15 minutes of it.

On my desk is a half roll of toilet paper. What is interesting is that it was a full roll yesterday-- I took it with me to use as Kleenex during four hours on an Army bus yesterday, and also used it during the night. After getting food poisoning two weeks ago, my weakened immune system was attacked by a cold, which four days ago assaulted me with a nasty cough and stuffed/runny nose. I am hoping it goes away by the time I go to the M16 rifle range on tuesday... I would like my breathing to be back to normal before I go put my expert badge on the line!

The good news is that one of Deanna's roommates also has a cold, and hers is slightly worse than mine at the moment, perhaps where mine was two days ago. Why is this bad thing good news for me? Because while at her apartment with a cough drop in my mouth, I don't feel so guilty about being near her roommates and getting them sick! I would say we have the same thing, but she was in America when I got sick...

Two days ago Deanna updated our registry at Wal-Mart. The first time we went through, I think we were in just one section of the website and didn't realize we weren't in a bigger section, so after my mom asked about camping equipment, we added a lot of stuff from that category. It got me in a camping mood! Unfortunately, we won't get to go camping for quite some time... probably not until the summer of 2010 because of the timing of when we are getting married and when school starts. I am just in the mood to roast some marshmallows or hot dogs, pitch up a tent, and relax in the hammock with a good book.

The Blue Screen of Death

eMy crazy computer is now in the shop. A couple weeks ago it was mercilessly attacked by the Blue Screen of Death, but this time there was no finding my way around it in safe mode. There was no escaping the horror. I admit, my PC is nearing the age of retirement, but I didn't think it would go out this early. In human years, I'd say it is 59 1/2. It is still kicking and active, but slowing down, and many of its peers have gone on at a far too early age, while others of its peers will go on for some decent amount of time. Anyways, the repair shop says I can probably recover all my data even if it can't get fixed, and honestly that is what I care about most. While it is annoying to not have a monitor the size of Montana, I can get along just fine with only my laptop (and my mini-laptop when it arrives!), but there were some files that were not backed up, primarily most of my pictures. At least I kept most of my music on my external harddrive... but I emphasize "most." I am thinking that the 1TB harddrive I keep drooling over at the PX has finally found its use for me: a backup harddrive. Some time in the next 2 or 3 months I will get it and backup EVERYTHING on it, and frequently update the backups of pictures and music. I also have all my music (as of October 2007) backed up on three DVD's should all else fail, but if I lost all the music I got since then, that would just be depressing.


For some Blue Screen of Death fun, check out this fun video: